Univision, Telefe, Tv Globo Take Honors At Miami Beach Gala

MAGALY MORALES ON LATIN TELEVISION

June 18, 2003|MAGALY MORALES ON LATIN TELEVISION

UnivisiM-sn, Argentina's TelefM-i and Brazil's TV Globo were the top winners of the second annual Premio INTE, an awards presentation hosted last week in South Florida to recognize the best of Spanish-language television around the world.

Nineteen countries fielded entries in 70 categories, with TelefM-i emerging as the top winner. Its nine awards included the prize for broadcast network of the year.

Locally, Noticiero UnivisiM-sn and its anchors, Jorge Ramos and MarM-ma Elena Salinas, took the awards for newscast and male and female news anchors of the year. Don Francisco won awards for his long-running Saturday variety show SM-abado Gigante and his weekly prime-time talk show, Don Francisco presenta, both on UnivisiM-sn.

More than 800 executives, stars and producers from across the Americas and Spain attended the event, which was split into two ceremonies. One took place early in the afternoon for executives, producers and distributors, with an evening gala at the Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami Beach for talent and content.

TV Globo, the Brazilian network that produced El Clon -- a favorite with six nominations -- was named telenovela producer of the year. The El Clon contingent included director Jayme Mojardim and writer Gloria Perez, who took the screenwriter of the year award.

El Clon, which aired last year on Telemundo, was selected telenovela of the year, and its female star, Giovanna Antonelli, was telenovela actress of the year.

Other honorees included Telemundo's president James McNamara, named broadcast network president of the year, and CNN en EspaM-qol, which was named cable news channel of the year.

Televisa's 100 mexicanos dijeron, which airs in the United States on TeleFutura, won two awards in separate game show categories. Mexican personality Adal Ramones, host of Televisa's Otro Rollo, which airs on UnivisiM-sn, won male host of the year.

Premio INTE was created two years ago by Izarra Media Group to draw attention to a burgeoning industry that has made Miami its capital in the Americas.

The ceremony is the only event of its kind to gather under the same roof both allies and rivals in the various Spanish-language television organizations.

The rivalries between Latin networks, in the United States and Mexico, are fierce. Mainstream television networks have no problem mentioning shows or interviewing stars regardless of where their programs air, but Latin artists face bans if caught granting interviews to a competing network.

This is one of the biggest obstacles the Izarra Media Group is facing, and the main reason why the awards ceremony will not be broadcast on U.S. television, although it will be seen in several Latin American countries.

During the awards presentation, rivals stood side by side to read the nominees and hand out awards.

Most of those who attended the first edition of INTE agreed that the second attempt improved on the debut. The gala, which started with a red carpet parade, featured musical performances and an emotional presentation of the INTE award for "a life of dedication" to renowned telenovela author Delia Fiallo.

"I was born to write telenovelas," said Cuban-born Fiallo, creator of dozens of international hit dramas such as Esmeralda, Leonela and Cristal.

New UnivisiM-sn drama

UnivisiM-sn launched the new daytime drama EngaM-qada (Deceived) on Monday.

Rosalinda (Veronica Schneider) runs away to the country to start a new life after she becomes pregnant by an affluent married man. Years later her daughter, Marisela (also played by Schneider), meets and falls in love with Gabriel (Jorge Aravena), ignorant of the fact that he is the godson of her biological father and that she is heir to the family fortune.